issues this project was number one on her list. we need to get it done. we need to get a full funding grant agreement. she has been a champion for this project from the beginning going back -- i am sure she will tell you, i don't know how far. speaker pelosi, a champion for this project. [applause] speaker pelosi doesn't call me very often, but when she does it's always important. four years ago when i took this job i went to see the speaker. this was number one on her list. how do we get this project done? jackie spear a strong advocate for this project. you have three great champions, and i will also tell you that in

working with senator boxer on the transportation bill this project was always at the top of her list. [applause] so i am delighted to be here. i don't know of another place i would rather be, and i know that all of you are so thrilled with the opportunity that this will create. every one of you sitting out there deserves credit. you've all played a role in this in some way or another. this is not about you. it's about the people. it's also about the next generation of transportation for the next generation for san francisco. that's what this is about. this is your vision. it's a clear vision, and so i am delighted, and very proud to announce today $942 million to the san francisco --

[applause] for the san francisco mta to extend the central subway light rail system from the downtown business district to chinatown. thousands of people will be enabled with good transportation as a result of this project. now, i have a long speech here but i'm going to stop because i know every one of these other people has more important things to say. thank you to the champions. congress women spears, speaker pelosi, senator feinstein and senator boxer you will well served in washington d c and the people will be well served by this project. thank you san francisco. >> secretary lahood. thank you

very much for that wonderful news. >> [inaudible] >> it's a really truly a great day for san francisco. great cities need great public transportation systems, and you know what? you know what makes our city great with all these leaders? they listen. they listen to our communities. they understand -- because for years our communities pleaded we need better transportation systems what makes our leaders so great they listen and they act. that is so wonderful. that is what standard that we have for all of our public officials. secretary lahood if you could thank president obama from all of us. yes. [applause] because i know today we're going to spend a lot of precious moments thanking leader pelosi

and congress women fine 79 and boxer and. >> >> we're going to thank all of our community members and from china town and all of them have worked very hard. these are not easy projects. they're very complicated and people had to work at the highest levels to make sure that every aspect worked, and a person who has worked tirelessly for 20 years and we join in celebrating 25 years of being in our congress and sought at every stage to make sure these funds were projected, to make sure we're doing our part, that congress is doing their part, all of the federal agencies, the person

that first called me to share the news we're out of the white house and into the congress and wait our magical 60 to 90 days and lees give a warm welcome leader nancy pelosi. [applause] >> who is also keeping track on the giants. >> you know mr. mayor i always listen attentively to every world you say but i know you want me to say it's the bottom of the ninth and one out and in a matter of minutes we have another cause for celebration and you said jam san francisco didn't happen last week. we may have another potential for this weekend as well. thank you mr. mayor for your kind words. thank you everyone for the role you played in making this important day possible. i am here with my son paul and he can attest to the fact we are part

of the 30 stockton crowd. we used to take it downtown and we would say "here comes the bus. there goes the bus". because it was always crowded mr. secretary. it would always be crowded and today is one things that contributes to the mobility of families, bringing people to work to play and improve their quality of life. secretary lahood has been one of the truest friends to san francisco. he has been a leader that has -- [applause] -- he has helped us make our case to the white house, to omb, and the rest. as we celebrate today we also have to recognize that this fits comfortably in an array of projects under his leadership as secretary of transportation and with the

great leadership of president barack obama whether it was the presidio park way, transway terminal, completion of third street rail and all of that. in recent years when he served in the congress and now as the secretary of transportation. he knows full well the role that senator boxer played and he was a member in congress of the transportation committee and the consensus she is building in the senate on this is quite remarkable so i am honored to be here with senator feinstein and our colleagues and share in this for san francisco and what you see here mr. secretary is consent. our great mayor lee -- he is the consensus maestro and brings people together and he said "listen, listen" and we act upon the consensus of our

community. it's about consensus. it's about community. it's about here comes the bus and now we can get on it, but it's also about all the things the mayor said. it's about the quality of our air. again sitting comfortably in other projects in california that secretary lahood hood worked so hard on. the two senators were instrumental in making better and we in the house urged passage for the high speed rail in the central valley, whether it's mass transit, rail, high speed rail and terminal and presidio and others -- what is it? transit first? transit first. it's about jobs. it's about comcommerce. it's about quality of air. it's about quality of life and building consensus in

america and by doing so and by listening and leadership from the white house we are able to be a model to the nation with projects of national significance so that other communities can follow our lead, and i join the mayor in seluting the leadership of president barack obama. without his leadership, his priorities, without the work that was done in appropriations committee and diane is a senior -- when i say senior i mean high ranking. i was a senior too so i take it as a complement but that's where a lot of this work is done so without president barack obama and his commitment to build america we wouldn't have this success today and it's a global vision but it has an impact on everyone that comes to san francisco and

especially those that live in san francisco and makes a great difference in the lives of our friends in chinatown and we celebrate their work too and thank you very much for this very important day. [applause] >> so please check that score for me again nancy. our next speaker was once our mayor -- will always be our mayor, one that has served so well in the senate and now while she has a higher calling she still finds time to remind me "make sure i pay attention to the streets of san francisco" but she has also been a great supporter of not only transportation, but this year she's also said we're going to make sure we protect the

cleanest water system this country has, our hetch hetchy. please welcome to the stage senator dianne feinstein. thank you very much for being here. >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much mayor lee, leader pelosi, jackie spear, david chiu. most importantly i think the finest secretary of transportation we have had, and nancy said what he has done for san francisco. i can tell you this is a secretary for california as well. [applause] whether it's riverside county, whether it's los angeles, whether it's the central valley, whether it's the san francisco bay area secretary lahood has been responsible. he's been available for phone calls. he's listened to the reasons for

projects and he has moved ahead. would you give him a big round of applause please. [applause] >> well, it's time to say a prayer. it's bottom of the ninth. they have two on and one out, so everybody -- if the giants win this i think they can win the series but they need to win this so let it happen please. i can't tell you how important i feel this project is. i also can't tell you how hard it is to build anything in san francisco, so this project must move ahead. i think commerce depends on it and i think people depend on it. nancy said it very well but let me just say what the ridership

is expected to be. when this central subway opens in 2019 daily ridership along the third street line is estimated to be 43,700. this is expected to rise to 65,000 people per day in 2030. this project is estimated to have the second highest ridership per mile of all subway and light rail proposals seeking federal funding nationwide, and it will be the most happily used muni line. that's the rational for this project. no question it's expensive. it's worth it if people use it. it's worth it if they stay out of the automobile. it's worth it if it

aids in creating space on our bus lines so it's a very important project. i am here to help in my way which is as an appropriator in the senate. jackie has helped in her way. nancy has helped in her way as a leader of a great political party in washington, so mr. secretary everybody that is here we thank you for our responsiveness. it's just great to welcome you here and go giants. [applause] >> mateo county supervisor to both houses of our california state legislature since 2008 and she has been in congress for jobs and our environment and she been such a great champion of public transportation that even cal train named a loco motor after jackie spear. please

welcome congress woman jackie spear. >> thank you mr. mayor. thank you secretary lahood. thank you to the incredible leadership, senator feinstein, nancy pelosi and mayor lee and the board of supervisors to chairman nol an from the sfmta. i am on pins and needles. do we have anything else to report? it's still at the same point we think they're in commercials. i am reminded from the song from "top gun" "take my breath away" and $942 million takes my breath away and i think to mayor lee for that amount i think we should get a leather flight jacket to thank mr. lahood for the great gift to our great city. the new money that is

going to be used here is going to create 1,000 new jobs before the end of the year with many more jobs to come after that. that is something to applaud. thank you again secretary lahood for that. this is one point 7 miles very similar to the length of the golden gate bridge when 75 years ago that was going to be built and little did we know what that bridge would bring to the economy of san francisco and marin and as we look ahead for 75 years it's interesting what this does for this region. you know the bay area has become the blue angels of science. we do lots of stunts, and we are very successful at doing those stunts and we do them at high speeds,

and between this project and the project for cal train to electifiy it over the next seven years $3 billion is going to be spent regionally on transit here, and we can say thank you to the secretary of transportation and to the regional transit authorities who have create thursday opportunity for the transportation. >> >> that will create a 22nd century of transit for the tronst century of jobs so thank you to secretary lahood and thank you to the leadership for all that we have accomplished here today. [applause] >> peter rogof was dominated to serve in the federal administration by the department

of transportation in 2009 by president barack obama. he has over see the disbursement throughout the country through the american reinvestment act and has done so meeting every milestone established by that act. getting money into hands of transit operators whose budgets were severely strained by the worse economic downturn since our great depression. please welcome fta administrator peter rogof. [applause] >> well thank you mayor lee and let me just say as the federal transit administrator it's great to be in a federal transit city. as many people know a rail connection was promised to the people of union square and chinatown going on two decades. they made that promise because this quarter is the most

densely populated quarter in the entire western united states that doesn't have an adequate rail connection and that promise was made because we have the opportunity here to cut the commute for tens of thousands of people everyday in half by this investment. the vast majority of the people don't own a car. they depend on transit. well today through president obama's leadership, secretary lahood leadership, the vision of the leaders on the stage we are here to commit $942 million to fulfill that promise. [applause] >> with the signing of this grant agreement we are taking $942 million paid by california taxpayers and to create jobs now when we need them. we're also using those dollars to improve the quality of life, and as jackie spear pointed out plan

for the future and economic prosperity of this whole area. when this subway extension opens as senator feinstein pointed out there will be 44,000 people using this light rail line. what she didn't point out that will make it the second or third busiest light rail in the united states. this is an environment that needs to be made and once it's built are gone the days when we have senior citizens watching the drive by and waiting for a bus that won't stop and then they have to stand on the bus and that bus has to crawl through the same traffic as the cars and get there in way too long period of time. means we will get into a elevator and on the rail and get to your destination in as little as

eight minutes. for transit to succeed in the country it needs to be reliable and viable and we need it in the bay area reliable. muni has its challenges and bart is running the oldest rail cars in the united states right now. >> is it over? >> it's over. [applause] >> congratulations san francisco. i thought she was cheering for old rail cars on bart. [laughter] but let me just point out there is something that we at dot have been focusing on a lot these days and that is the recent census told us that the united states is going to have 150 million more citizens by 2050 and if we won't let the growth overwhelm it we need to

plan for it and we plan for it with transit systems like this. we need to invest in the systems that we have but expand the growth of tomorrow, so let me just say it's very easy for me as federal transit administrator to stand up and make these speeches but i want recognize the people that really made it happen. would everyone stand up that has been working on this project for the last two decades? [applause] these are the people that do the environmental work, the planning, the staging, the construction planning, the contracting. these are the people that made it work, the board members. thank you for all your leadership. thank you to all the leaders up here. we are going to reinvest in the system that we have and maybe great investment for jobs and prosperity for tomorrow. thank you. [applause] >> thank you peter. we should

get you up more whenever we win games. well, next up to bat president of our board of supervisors, supervisor of district three where the greatest impact in the neighborhoods will be felt in a positive way for central subway. someone who doesn't own a car. rides his bike everywhere and takes public transportation and learn to riding a bike at night and watching out for everybody not to interfere with him. our board met david chiu. >> good afternoon. i am so honored to be part of the second most significant san francisco celebration today. in all seriousness i am honored to be here representing not just the board of supervisors, but generations of unanimous votes

at my board of supervisors over the years. are they doing this for me? i want to thank mayor lee for his leadership over the years. i of course want to thank and welcome our washington advocates. mr. secretary, you may think that it is not sunny today, but the sun is shining here. you are feeling our warmth. i want to thank you. i want to thank our administrator rogot and thank president obama. washington dc gets it. [applause] and of course i have to thank our former mayor and senator dianne feinstein. her transit leadership began at city hall when she over saw the rebuilt of our cable car system and wonderful you have been part of this and champion for this all

these years. congress woman spare thank you and speaker pelosi we want to thank you for shepherding this subway. we needed champions like all of you and thank you for that. to the mta staff and the director and everyone doing the work, to the ta staff, to the mtc, thank you for all that you're doing. now i had in my talking points a reference that we know you need the central subway if you get on the 30 stockton and apparently everyone else had that in the talking points. through the denser parts of san francisco, as someone who doesn't have a car i have and millions of us have wasted countless hours trying to get through our downtown corridor but i want to take a moment to thank the most important folks who are not here with us and that is the people

of san francisco. for years before i joined the board of supervisors i served on with many volunteers the community advisory group to the central subway. with countless volunteers from the bay view, from visitation valley, from mission bay, south of market, union square, and of course thousands of residents and leaders from chinatown who went to countless public meetings provided tens of thousands of signatures, and stood for years to work extremely hard for world class transportation into the heart of our city, but we know we are building the central subway not just based on our history but for our future. by the year 2040 we will have 100,000 new households and 200,000 new workers and thousands of new daily car trips. we have to prepare for the future. let me close with a couple of quick thoughts.

first i believe that our connecting community slogan it is real. we are the greatest city in the united states and we are an incredible city because our communities come together for our subway and for our giants. second, we have to do more. we have to make sure that we're taking care of not just our daily needs on muni and not just our daily needs for the pedestrians, our sierkists, those in cars, those that walk, but we have to make sure we're investing in the long-term projects, and lafltly i just want to say one thing. we know over the history of time great cities don't regret building subways. they regret not building them. thank you. [applause] >> reverend norman fong has been praying for 20 years. he has

been a great champion. he has to collect all of his efforts for so many years to make sure our communities were served well. he's been an advocate and director of the chinese development center, a center invaluable to the growth of our community to plan affordable housing, transit, to open space, to the care for our seniors. the reverend fong we have been recognizing your voice for wells fargo on the radio and we want to give recognition to your voice again as a champion for the central subway. come on up reverend norman fong. [applause] >> yeah, that's true. i am going to keep this short, but i

also need your involvement. i was asked to do a blessing but those that know me we need to bless each other and today i just want you to say these four words. bless the central subway. say that. "bless the central subway". now, whenever i say this word "this is it" -- i am borrowing from michael jackson. then you did a blessing. okay. this has been the moment we all been waiting for. this is it. >> (inaudible). >> a community dream is being actualized. this is it. >> [inaudible] >> communities from the bay view to chinatown are being connected. this is it. >> central subway. >> affordable transportation is the lif